This invention relates to a connector for an integrated circuit (IC) card which is, in use, attached to a given electronic device such as a telephone set, a cash dispenser, a personal computer, a camera, or the like.
There is known a card connector, as discussed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication (Kokai) No. Hei 9-185973, which comprises a connector housing constituted by a base and a cover openable and closable with respect to the base, the base being provided with a plurality of contacts arranged thereon in such a manner as to be able to contact external terminals of an IC card received in the connector housing, and a lock mechanism for maintaining a closed position of the cover with respect to the base.
As the above lock mechanism, a lock pawl is raised from a side plate of the cover and this lock pawl, when the cover is closed with respect to the base, is snap fitted into a lock hole for a resilient lock piece provided on the base.
However, the above conventional card connector has the following shortcomings.
In order to cancel the snap fitting relation between the lock pawl and the lock hole, it is required to pull up the cover in the opening direction with the cover pinchingly held between the thumb and the index finger. This degrades a favorable operability when the cover is opened to insert or remove the IC card.
In addition, when the lock pawl or the lock piece is snap fitted to or detached from the lock hole, the lock pawl is liable to be permanently deformed or cut off, thus resulting in an incomplete locking condition.
The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above shortcomings inherent in the conventional devices.